Player: Chrome does not automatically play Mediasite content
KBA4048

Created

5/16/2018

Last Reviewed

5/17/2018

Versions

7.0, 7.2

Issue

When using Chrome to browse to a Mediasite presentation, the player shows a status of "Opening" and the video does not automatically start. The video can be started by clicking the play button. This issue affects both live and on-demand content.

Solution

This is a result of an intentional change in behavior that was introduced in Chrome 66. Chrome now blocks autoplay by default for newly-visited websites. Chrome does allow autoplay for certain sites based on a mechanism called the Media Engagement Index. Under the Media Engagement Index, autoplay will be allowed based on certain conditions:

The video has no audio, or the audio is muted.

The user has interacted with the site during the current browsing session.

The site has been added to Chrome's home screen (mobile only.)

Video has been played back frequently on the site in the recent past.

Viewers attempting to access Mediasite content will be required to press play if the site has never been visited before. Once the viewer has accessed a few presentations and made repeat visits to the site, they should start to see the autoplay functionality return.

These restrictions also apply to content embedded in an iframe; see the link in the Additional Comments section for more information.